How Do Experienced Users Evaluate Hybrid Financial Instruments?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Clor-Proell, Shana; Koonce, Lisa; White, Brian
• 署名单位: Texas Christian University; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-8456
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12129
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 1267-1296
• 关键词: Classification; expertise; earnings

摘要

Hybrid financial instruments contain features of both liabilities and equity. Standard setters continue to struggle with getting the classification right for these complex instruments. In this paper, we experimentally test whether the features of hybrid instruments affect the credit-related judgments of experienced finance professionals, even when the hybrid instruments are already classified as liabilities or equity. Our results suggest that getting the classification right is not of primary importance for these experienced users, as they largely rely on the underlying features of the instrument to make their judgments. A second experiment shows that experienced users' reliance on features generalizes to several features that often characterize hybrid instruments. However, we also find that experienced users vary in their beliefs about which individual features are most important in distinguishing between liabilities and equity. Together, our results highlight the importance of effective disclosure of hybrid instruments' features.